The entrance of women into the teaching profession in Spain (1855–1940)

The admission of women to the teaching field was conditioned by many different circumstances that varied depending on time and place. This article will examine the evolution of this process in Spain in an attempt to identify some of the contributing factors: a patriarchal mentality which held that women had a special aptitude for teaching; a segregationist and sexist conception of education; the intention of some of the reformist sectors to broaden work opportunities for women; and the struggle of women themselves to enter the workforce, owing to the lack of opportunities for study and work offered to them. I will also examine some of the resistance they had to overcome to gain access to this profession.     

The Experience of Corporal Punishment in Schools, 1890–1940

Corporal punishment was an important part of the educational experience of many children educated during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It has often been assumed that it was an uncontroversial and widely accepted means of maintaining school discipline. This article questions these assumptions, using autobiographical accounts produced by individuals educated between 1890 and 1940. Working from common themes in these accounts, it presents a reconstruction of how corporal punishment was viewed by the child. Whilst educationists of the period encouraged the sparing and impartial exercise of school discipline, the accounts demonstrate how, in practice, the use of corporal punishment was often seen as arbitrary or unjust. Corporal punishment was, as a result, to become a major source of tension between pupils and teachers within the early twentieth‐century school.     

El Colegio Altamirano (1897–1958): New Histories of Chicano Education in the Southwest

In the history of education, every generation brings forth someone who has a lasting impact on the current and future generations of educators. Ralph Winfred Tyler was one of those people. His life spanned nearly the entire 20th century, and his concepts of curriculum and instruction transcended this long and fruitful existence. They are found today embedded in the accountability and reform movements. This article is a short celebration of his contributions and life lest, in our hurry to improve our schools, we forget this bit of heritage.     

The formation,development and contribution of the New Ideals in Education conferences, 1914–1937

This paper seeks to explore the development, impact and contribution made by the New Ideals in Education conferences, which were held between 1914 and 1937. In particular, it will examine how the group emerged from the English Montessori Society and forged an identity of its own based on the thoughts and ideas of its two major protagonists: Edmond Holmes and the Earl of Lytton. This was especially manifest in its commitment to a form of non-partisanship that sought to be inclusive as possible towards those agitating for liberty within the classroom. The paper will also examine the profound impact played by the First World War, whose events were a catalyst not merely for impelling the group to discuss and showcase practice but also how this could be applied in the reconstruction process. In so doing it will chart the evolution of the New Ideals movement, which fizzled out just prior to the Second World War.     

The Rise and Decline of Comprehensive Education: Key Factors in the History of Reformed Secondary Education in Belgium, 1969–1989

In answer to economic needs and social demands, a structural innovation was introduced in secondary education in most West European countries, mainly in the 1960s. Contrary to the traditional schools, organized in vertical categories, the so‐called comprehensive schools brought together all branches in one school. There was protest against this type of school from the start but it was mainly in the 1980s and 1990s that comprehensive schools came under siege. In most countries the comprehensive structures have been abandoned or adjusted to a more moderate form.

This paper tries to explain the factors that stimulated innovation in the 1960s, and those that counteracted comprehensive education. As will be shown, these factors were not always related to ideological positions. In fact, the reasons for local educational authorities to “go comprehensive” (or not) were often practically rather than ideologically inspired. Theories of “dominant rationality” by Matthijssen and the “referential” by Jobert succeed in surpassing ideological parameters, and can be interesting tools to explain changing mentalities. However, a satisfying explanation for the history of comprehensive education cannot be offered without paying attention to everyday pragmatics, that – in the author's view – have been decisive for the evolution of comprehensive education.

The paper will be illustrated with examples from the Belgian case. Comprehensive schools were introduced in Belgium in 1969. All state public schools went comprehensive in the 1970s, and the number of comprehensive private schools grew rapidly until growth ceased around 1980. The ongoing struggle between Catholic comprehensive and traditional schools led to a compromise created by the Catholic educational authorities, a fusion of comprehensive and traditional elements. This structure was imposed by the Flemish government as a unitary structure for all secondary schools in the Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium in 1989.     

The rise,removal, and return of women: gender representations in primary-level textbooks in Afghanistan, 1980–2010

Nearly four decades of instability and fragility have led to many changes in the status of women and girls in Afghanistan. Yet, little research focuses on these changes within the education system. To understand the country’s stance toward gender issues in formal practice, we examine gender representations in Afghan primary-level Dari language arts textbooks. Using a qualitative content analysis and longitudinal data, we examine how ideologies about gender have been politicised in Afghanistan and are reflected in school textbooks from 1980 to 2010. Findings suggest that tumultuous political events and power struggles in the recent history of Afghanistan have led to many changes in how the daily social and working lives of Afghan women and girls have been portrayed in textbooks. As seen in the textbooks, it appears that efforts are being made within the current regime to balance competing gender norms. We conclude with suggestions for policy-makers.     

The genesis of quanta: 1890–1910

In this article we discuss how the concept of quantum of energy came into being from the analysis of black-body spectrum. We start our discussion with the work of Wien who discovered the general form of black-body spectrum and on the basis of his discovery proposed a formula to obtain power radiated from a black body as a function of its temperature and the frequency of radiation. We then focus on the work of Planck who modified Wien’s formula to bring it in close agreement with the experimental results. However, the real greatness of Planck is displayed in his interpretation of the modified formula that led him to introduce the revolutionary concept of the quantum of energy. How Planck arrived at this conclusion is described in detail. We conclude the article with a discussion of the generalization of the concept of quanta by Einstein to propose quantization of radiation as well as of mechanical vibrations. Manoj K. Harbola is a professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. His area of research is in the field of electronic structure of matter and he has contributed significantly to fundamental aspects of density functional theory and applied it to study atoms, molecules, clusters and solids.     

Slavery,Colonialism and the Pursuit of Community Life: Anglican Mission Education in Zanzibar and Northern Rhodesia 1864–1940

Education became the central focus of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) following a disastrous and unsuccessful attempt to settle in Nyasaland (now Malawi). The aim of this article is to trace the UMCA educational policy from Zanzibar, where the mission became established in 1864, to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). From their earliest experiences in Africa UMCA missionaries were confronted with the reality and horror of slavery. In Nyasaland missionaries fought slave raiders and in Zanzibar the first UMCA schools catered entirely for ex‐slaves. This article analyses the education developed for former slaves and shows how, as the mission expanded, missionaries continued to attempt to build communities and provide what they considered to be the best spiritual and educational opportunities for indigenous populations while facing considerable external constraints, including the expectations of a colonial power.     

New Methods in Design Education： The Systemic Methodology and the Use of Sketch in the Conceptual Design Stage

This study describes the application of a new product concurrent design methodologies in the context in the education of industrial design. The use of the sketch has been utilized many times as a tool of creative expression especially in the conceptual design stage, in an intuitive way and a little out of the context of the reality needs that the design should be attended. This methodology systematizes and guides the process of sketching by means of a conceptual model and a geometric model toward a feasible solution, complementing the role of the sketch in the phase of a product conceptual design. The model describes its operating principles, as well as the phases of implementation in the context of teaching the industrial design illustrated with projects carried out in the workshop of conceptual design of the University Technical College of Valencia and University of the Bio-Bio, Chile. Finally, we discuss the implementation of the systemic models, their relation with the optimisation of the sketching process in the conceptual design stage, and their implications in the educational context.     

Fresh air and good food: children and the anti‐tuberculosis campaign in the Netherlands c.1900–1940

As elsewhere in the Western world, between 1900 and 1940 the anti‐tuberculosis campaign in the Netherlands produced a wide range of initiatives to promote child health. In each of these the social and the medical were linked, as the hygienic ‘mood’ was encouraged by a child‐saving ethos that focused upon the poor. In this article the author discusses the choices that were made between anti‐tuberculosis interventions for children, the benefits projected on each of these and the categories of children for whom they were meant. Private and voluntary initiatives dominated the field, whereas the state turned out to be very reluctant to take responsibility. Medically controlled health camps for ‘weak’ children were a more important instrument than open‐air schools and mass medical examination. Medical surveillance produced new categories and data which in turn justified the continued growth of child hygiene after tuberculosis had become less of a threat during the 1930s.     

The development of Chinese education in Malaysia, 1952–1975: political collaboration between the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Chinese educationists

This paper examines the development of Chinese education in Malaysia from 1952 to 1975, focusing on the political collaboration between the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Chinese educationists to advance the cause of Chinese education instead of the usual macro policy analysis. This collaboration was compounded by the different stand adopted by the MCA and the Chinese educationists on issues relating to Chinese education. This different stand reflected the MCA’s political limitations to advance the cause of Chinese education. The MCA had to abide by the elite accommodation model adopted by the coalition government since it was a partner of this coalition. Such an accommodative approach could not meet the assertive demand of the Chinese educationists on issues relating to Chinese education. Meanwhile, the political collaboration between the MCA and the Chinese educationists was also constrained by internal conflict within the MCA that compromised the interests of Chinese education.     

Participation in Canadian Universities: The gender imbalance (1977–2005)

Females are more likely to attend Canadian universities and their participation rate has been increasing faster than that of males, generating a 15 percentage point gap by 2005. We investigate the determinants of attending university and explore the reasons for the increasing gender gap. As in the US literature, we find that conventional decompositions, averaging over the whole sample, attribute most of the gender gap to differences in variables, notably the University Premium. The average sample approach in these decompositions abstracts from the evolution over time of the participation rates by gender and from important detail at specific points in time, features that we try to overcome. We find that the rising level of the university participation rate for both women and men can be explained by changing societal norms, the dynamic influence of parental education, the University Premium, tuition fees and real income. The 2005 gap between the female and male participation rates can be accounted mostly (9 percentage points) by the gender differences in the University Premium and, to a lesser extent (6 percentage points), by differences in the coefficients in the female and male participation equations.     

Education reform in New York City (2002–2013)

In 2002 Michael Bloomberg took office as Mayor of New York City and, over the next 12 years of his administration, oversaw a series of sweeping reforms in order to ‘fix’ the broken education system which he believed he had inherited. This paper details the key policy reforms in New York City’s public school system during this period, assessing the extent to which the reforms were successful and what can be learnt from a policy perspective for other urban education systems. It outlines the radical programme of school closure, structural reform, and the introduction of new measures of accountability and autonomy, concluding that reform in New York City can be grouped into four categories: leadership; structure and schools; accountability; and teachers. While a lack of targeted evaluation means that it is not possible to prove causation, it nonetheless shows that there is a correlation between this set of reforms and the fact that by 2013 New York City’s performance on national tests placed it amongst the best urban school districts in America when compared with other cities serving similar populations.     

European Influences in Spanish Popular Education: The Case of the Socialist Casa Del Pueblo of Madrid and the Belgian Model (1897–1929)

In Spain from the late nineteenth century, the ‘People’s Houses’ (Casas del Pueblo) corresponded to a desire to provide and organize a space of sociability for workers and their families. This formed part of the diverse Spanish popular education movement. This article focuses on the project to translate the model of the Belgian Maison du Peuple into the Spanish context, and the plans and activities of two cultural and educational socialist institutions directly inspired by similar Belgian institutions: the Central de Educación Socialista (Centre of Socialist Education) founded in 1913 on the model of the Centrale d’Éducation Ouvrière (Centre of Labour Education), and the Escuela Obrera Socialista (Socialist Labour School) founded in 1929 and based on the École Ouvrière Supérieure (Upper Labour School). The comparison with the Belgian models allows us to see the distance between hope and reality. In fact, what interested the Spanish Socialists in the Belgian experience was more the general idea, the name and the concrete means to formalize it, rather than the pedagogic methods used, which inscribed both in a national and international perspective.     

Brain disease and the study of learning disabilities in the Netherlands (c. 1950–85)

This paper discusses the role brain disease has played in the discourse and practices of child scientists involved in the study of learning disabilities and behavioural disorders from the 1950s up to the mid-1980s, particularly in the Netherlands as part of a developing international scientific community. In the pre-ADHD era, when child sciences established themselves as academic fields of study and special education expanded quickly, brain-related psychiatric labels like “minimal brain damage” (MBD, later “dysfunction”) were often used for inattentive or hyperactive children. These diagnoses seem to have contributed to the academic status of the developing field of study by connecting neurological research into brain dysfunction with the study of learning problems and their treatment. The increasing differentiation between medical and educational research provided opportunities for those who focused on the development of American-style treatment such as behaviouristic conditioning. By 1980, more than a decade after their Anglo-American colleagues had done so, Dutch child scientists had finally lost confidence in the unspecific and overinclusive MBD label. Its popularity among the larger public, as well as concern about the rapidly growing number of diagnoses, continued to stimulate demand for more research into the nature of learning disabilities and methods of remedial teaching.     

The 'Gender Dimension' of both the 'Narrow' and 'Broad' Curriculum in UK Higher Education: Do women lose out in both?

This article draws on data from a qualitative research study undertaken in an old UK university. The main aim of the study was to measure the impact of gender issues on the university campus, an important part of which was the issue of the curriculum. Individuals were found to operate either a 'narrow' or 'broad' definition of the term 'curriculum'. In either case, there was found to be a 'gender dimension' involved. In male-dominated disciplines a 'narrow' definition of the term 'curriculum' was predominantly in use-appropriate discipline content and an unproblematic body of knowledge, which is to be transferred to students largely by lecturing. The difficulties to be overcome in order to undertake a gender-sensitive evaluation of the curriculum in these departments stemmed from the evaluations of the staff of what the problem was and where it was located. In disciplines that accepted a broader definition, which included the 'informal' curriculum, the gendered division of labour in the domestic sphere was repeated in the university, with the result that the division 'rational/emotional' became an aspect of the masculine/feminine divide. Men as well as women felt that men were less inclined to undertake the emotion work involved in supporting student learning. In this male-dominated society, 'emotion work' such as the pastoral support of students remained virtually invisible, and went largely unrewarded.     

The Dynamics and Macro Strategy of Structural Reform in Higher Education in China: Case Study of Two Critical Periods (1949–1960 and 1998–2009)

The development of the higher education system in China has experienced huge changes alongside the transitions in the socio-economic milieu since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Among the major structural transformations of higher education, the reform during the 1950s and the one from 1998 to 2009 can be seen as two typical cases and manifestations of macro strategy modulation. Both reforms were driven by the need of strengthening and empowering the nation as a whole through the advancement of higher education. But the 1950s reforms featured the perpetuation of state control, highly centralized resource allocation, and authoritarian administration, while the 1998–2009 period reflected the transition from a planned to a market economy in higher education, manifested in an increased weight given to market forces, the enlarged autonomy of higher education institutions (HEIs) and expanded government guidance instead of mere state control. The paper will take the two periods as cases to show why and how the reforms were formulated and what directions they are leading towards.     

The Use and Interpretation of Logistic Regression in Higher Education Journals: 1988–1999

This article examines the use and interpretation of logistic regression in three leading higher education research journals from 1988 to 1999. The journals were selected because of their emphasis on research, relevance to higher education issues, broad coverage of research topics, and reputable editorial policies. The term logistic regression encompasses logit modeling, probit modeling, and tobit modeling and the significance tests of their estimates. A total of 52 articles were identified as using logistic regression. Our review uncovered an increasingly sophisticated use of logistic regression for a wide range of topics. At the same time, there continues to be confusion over terminology. The sample sizes used did not always achieve a desired level of stability in the parameters estimated. Discussion of results in terms of delta-Ps and marginal probabilities was not always cautionary, according to definitions. The review is concluded with recommendations for journal editors and researchers in formulating appropriate editorial policies and practice for applying the versatile logistic regression technique and in communicating its results with readers of higher education research.